Paul Bradley steps in to fight Rafael Natal at UFC 133

Paul Bradley (16-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who made a brief appearance on “The Ultimate Fighter 7″ before doctors pulled him from the show with a contagious skin condition, has verbally agreed to fight Rafael “Sapo” Natal (12-3-1 MMA, 0-1-1 UFC) at UFC 133.

Natal was today left without an opponent when his originally scheduled charge, Constantinos Philippou, was promoted to a main-card fight with Jorge Rivera in the wake of a doomed bout with Alessio Sakara.

Sources close to the event today confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that verbal agreements are in place for the matchup, which was first reported by MMAWeekly.com.

UFC 133 takes place Aug. 6 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Bradley comes into the octagon on the heels of three consecutive submission wins, one of which was earned against UFC vet Johnny Rees. The Minnesota Mixed Martial Arts Academy product signed with Strikeforce in late 2009 after his ill-fated appearance on “TUF 7,” in which he passed the reality show tournament’s preliminary round before being forced off the show. His stint with the California-based promotion was short-lived, though, after a first-round TKO loss to current middleweight contender Luke Rockhold at Strikeforce Challengers 6.

Still, Bradley has tasted defeat just twice in a professional career spanning five years.

Natal, who trains in New York City at Gracie Fusion, attempts his first UFC win for the third time. A veteran of the Brazilian fight circuit who later competed in the popular Northeast-based Ring of Combat, Natal signed with the UFC in 2010 and suffered a decision loss to Rich Attonito after he was dropped early. Then, despite a dominant start, he faded in the final round and fought replacement fighter Jesse Bongfeldt to a majority draw at UFC 124.

From Our Partners

The Latest

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.